Spyschool
by Polka Cross
Summary: After some troubling events, Sakura is enrolled in Konoha-high. But this isn't just any high-school ... GaaSaku
1. Chapter 1

Hi !!!!!!!

This is my first Gaasaku fic but I'm planning on doing some more ... I just love this couple !!!

But first, the disclaimer : I do not own Naruto by any means or ways, Masashi Kishimoto regrettably forgot to put me on his inheritance list. sigh ...

* * *

Sakura sighed. Again. First day at high-school, and most certainly _boarding school_ was not by any means the perfect day. Especially when it looked like a prison camp. The building was gray, windows showing here and there. Flowers could be seen behind some windows, which did lighten up the mood. But it was still _gray_ and in dry cement. Just like a prison or a mental institution. And to finish it off, barbed wires encircled it as if to stop people from getting out. Joy. 

"Hey there ! You must be the new girl !" a petty blond cried, appearing in front of the gate. "Tsunade, the principal, sent me to get you. I'll bring you to her office," she continued. "I'm Ino by the way."

"Um ... Hi, I'm Sakura," she tried. She certainly didn't expect this welcome. The only thing she wanted to do was to be forgotten for a while. Visibly this was _not _going to happen.

Ino unlocked the gate and ushered her in, glancing different ways to see in anyone was watching. The rosette looked at her. _This is an even stranger school with even stranger people than I thought._

"I'll bring you straight to the principal's office, then when you've finished I'll show you around and bring you to your room to unpack. Hopefully your stuff will have arrived by then." Ino was starting to get bubbly again. " It's not often we get new students here. I mean, we've all suffered more or less the same thing, that's our school's characteristic."

Sakura just stared at her. They'd all suffered. But looking at Ino, she couldn't believe it. She was happy, bubbly and hyper-active. Colorful clothes hung loosely from her, and she didn't put make-up on as thought she was an emo, goth or other. Ino noticed her looking at her clothes. "These ? Don't get too hopeful. We have got uniforms, but like it's a day off we can wear what we like."

"So you don't have school on Saturday ?" Sakura asked. She was beginning to like her. Even though she looked pretty dark beside her. She has black highlights in her unusual pink hair, and dark nail polish too. Though she was wearing the uniform.

"Saturdays ? Only in the morning. Anyway, we're nearly there." Sakura hadn't realized she had been walking briskly by the other girl's side. "We're here. Tsunade may seem a bit over the top, but she's good usually to new students."

"Usually ?"

"Just one case of a snobby boy pissing her off. She punched him in the face. The guy had to have his dentition redone," was Ino's clearly uninterested reply. Sakura just swallowed, making a mental note of not pissing Tsunade off. She knocked gently on the door, the blond giving her the thumbs up, and entered.

A woman that looked like she was in her mid-twenties sat at the desk, bottles of sake around her. Her hazel eyes flicked to Sakura in almost a surprised way, then recollected herself.

"You must be Sakura. Pleasure to meet you, as it always is with new students. I'm really sorry about your loss. You'll find that nearly every student here has been subject to it and not wanted to stay at an orphanage," Tsunade said sympathetically.

Sakura held her head low, not wanting to show weakness. When she decided it was safe to raise her head without bursting in to tears, she looked determinedly in the principal's eyes, showing no emotion, no fear. Her father had died not long ago. But it wasn't her father she mourned. Her mother, dead for a few years, had always loved her and encouraged her to go further. It was a terrible hit when she learned her mum had died.

"Tsunade examined the girl quietly, before announcing, "Well, you fared better than the previous one. He tried to throttle me when I told exactly what I just said. Children, or teenagers in this case, always forget who's stronger. In this case I am. Remember that and you won't have any problems." Sakura remembered the story of the boy who had lost his teeth. _That must be him._

"Anyway, here's your timetable. Lessons start on Monday, finish Saturdays at mid-day. In the time being, Ino will show you around." Tsunade handed her a piece of paper and a key, which she guessed was for her room. She went out, only to be bombarded with the certain blond.

"Did it go okay ? Tsunade can be a bit harsh sometimes," Ino was smiling though, clearly happy Sakura had made it out with all her teeth. "Come on,let's go. I'll show you around."

They exited the building and started crossing the grounds. There was a pitch of grass in one corner and one of sand in the other. The swimming area was where they were heading now. "The grassy area is usually for sport playing, like soccer or other things. The sand pitch is where people train their combat skills," Ino explained._Combat skills ?_

Ino continued to explain, stopping a few times to show people around her. "That's Naruto, the blond with six scars on his cheeks. He's hyper-active, loves ramen and can be a complete idiot. He's sweet though when you get to know him, but that's not very hard. And the girl sitting next to him with navy-blue hair and red face is Hinata. She's really kind and timid, and likes Naruto, though he's too stupid to notice it."

They passed a few people, like Kankuro, a master puppeteer, Shino, a guy with a weird obsession with insects and Tenten, a girl one year older than Sakura but who loved sharp objects. Apparently she was dating Neji Hyuuga, Hinata's cousin.

The two girls were now crossing the swimming area. Someone caught Sakura's attention as she experienced deja-vu. A boy with flamming red messy hair stood next to the water, drying himself off. He seemed to realize that someone was staring at him and turned his eyes to meet hers. Emerald clashed with jade. Sakura quickly looked away, fighting the blush that she could feel coming. She started walking away, Ino catching up quickly behind. Had she seen him before ? And could a so chiseled and muscled six-pack exist ? _Don't. Think. Of that._ The rosette shook her head.

Ino seemed to know what was going on in Sakura's head and smirked. "That's Sabaku no Gaara, or just Gaara for simple. He's two years older than you, so he's seventeen and he's a senior. Seniors had to teach people specialized subjects. He gives swimming lessons. He's got a pretty good body, huh ?"

"Ino !" Sakura screamed but ending with giggles. She did turn her head back once more. To her great surprise he was looking at her. A smirk grew on his face, though barely visible. She whipped her head back around, listening to the end of Ino's conversation.

"Just wait till you see Sasuke-kun. He is HOT. With a foul attitude maybe but still makes you have a nose-bleed when you see him. He's away though right now," Ino was saying, completely oblivious about what had just happened. "This is the door to your room. Hope Tsunade didn't forget to give you the key. Otherwise I could just lock pick it for you."

Sakura hadn't even noticed they had gone inside, or even walking down different corridors. "You know how to pick locks ?" Sakura asked, astonished.

Ino had already taken the key from her hand and had unlocked the door, pushing Sakura inside. She replied as a matter-of-fact, " You will soon know how to too you know." She looked at Sakura's timetable and squealed, "Look ! You're going to have swimming lessons with Gaara !"

Sakura was very confused now, not only blushing. "I'm going to know how to _pick a lock_ ?"

Ino raised her head. "You don't know ? I thought they would have told you."

"Told me what ?" Sakura was getting more nervous every second.

"This not ordinary high-school. Here they teach you different combat techniques and languages. They usually need orphans who have survived very difficult things and will handle things normal people wouldn't." Ino shook her head. "Sakura ... This is spy-school."


	2. Chapter 2

Ahem ... After some complicated and mathematical studies ( not ), I discovered something ...

GaaSaku fans are much nicer and encouraging than SasuSaku fans !!!!! Not to be mean or anything ... Some SasuSaku fans are very encouraging... It's just a smaller number of people !!!!

Anyway ... Do I really have to repeat the disclaimer ? I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters, however normal that may sound ... That doesn't make sense, does it ?

* * *

Knocking shattered the quiet morning ... Sakura groaned, and looked at her alarm clock._ 5:30 ?! Let me go back to sleep !_ The rosette covered her head with the pillow, blocking out all sounds at the ungodly hour. Shacking soon woke her up though. 

There stood Ino, already dressed and full of energy. As usual. "Did I forget to tell you breakfast is at 5:45 ?" the blond girl asked innocently in an angelic way.

Sakura groaned again, before throwing her pillow at her. Ino avoided and bounced on her bed. Sakura just lay there, her mind too tired to register anything. " Doesn't lyings exist in this school ? And how did you get in ? I thought I had locked my ... Oh ..." Realization hit her hard. She slumped her head back on the mattress, desperate to forget.

Ino looked at her watch. "You've got ten minutes to get ready. If you're late to breakfast you have to run ten laps under the direction of Gai-sensei. Which, I have to precise, is utter torture." Sakura screamed and jumped out of her warm bed, opening her yet unpacked bag and getting a fresh pair of clothes. Black short skirt, white top and a pair of boots... _Better make it simple for my first official day_, was her first thought. Five minutes later Sakura Haruno was ready, passing her comb through her long hair.

"You ready ? We'll be there on time if we leave now," the blond asked. Sakura reached for a black ribbon, tying her hair up while leaping out of her room, not bothering to lock her door. Ino sprinted off, Sakura following lead. People looked at them strangely, two girls running to the cafeteria. Didn't they know running with Gai was one of the worst forms of torture ?

In two minutes flat they had arrived at the breakfast room, panting and red-faced. Everything just finished with laughter though. "I think I may have just beaten my record !" Ino breathed.

"Why, you're always late ?" Ino nodded, then pointed to a table where a few people were sitting.

"That's the table were I always eat with my friends. All the girls are there, so I'll introduce you to them." Ino dragged Sakura towards them, pushing past a few people while doing so. Once arrived at the destination, the blond exclaimed, "Hey girls ! This is Sakura. She arrived just yesterday and she'll be staying with us." There were three girls at the table, o which she recognized Tenten and Hinata. The third person she had not already seen was a sandy blond-haired girl, tied up in four pony-tails.

The girl in question smiled and presented herself, "Hi, I'm Sabaku no Temari." Sakura had the impression she had already heard that name. Realization dawned on her.

"Oh ! So ... you're.. um ... related to... Gaara ?" Sakura asked, forcing Gaara's name out. Temari laughed.

"So you've met the psychotic serial-killer ? Yep, he's mine." Soon the other girls presented themselves too. Tenten was dating Neji as told, and her brown hair was tied in two small buns. Hinata looked less red than when Sakura had seen her the first time.

"N-nice t-to meet you S-Sakura-san," Hinata stuttered. Sakura smiled. The girls were friendly, even if Ino was clutching her arm protectively. She sat down, Ino next to her. The five girls talked and laughed for a while before being kicked out by an angry chef.

They walked around the grounds, showing Sakura around. The dojo was behind the dormitories, the training fields one mile off in the woods. There was also a running track and a laboratory. By that time the sun had started to shine through the gray clouds and Sakura smiled when she felt the warmth. It was nearly one o'clock when a young lady came walking up to the rosette.

"Sakura, could you please come to my office ? We have several things that need explain. Oh and by the way my name is Shizune." The pig in her arms squealed.

One hour later Sakura's stomach was growling. She was still in Shizune's office who had just explained the school's history, the numerous awards they had received, and why children were trained so young. She currently explaining missions. "Students here are sometimes called for missions, playing dangerous roles as ones sister or brother, or any other kind of persona. Children are in general more persuasive than adults, and so receive better acceptance. Other people of their age can also be naïve, so when they meet a friend they usually tell them everything.

In your case you will probably start missions as soon as in one week. You started quite late so we're going to enroll you sooner to reduce the difference. I am warning you already that some missions will be very hard, as well mentally as physically. You're gonna go through intensive training, so all I can say in good luck." Shizune turned her back, waving her hand and dismissing Sakura.

Sakura went straight to her room, having to unpack and look at her time-table. She opened the white painted door, looked under the bed before lugging out her heavy bag. The rosette opened it, the first thing catching her eye a necklace holding the yang symbol. She clutched in her hand, making her knuckles grow white.

_Her mother was looking at a five-year old Sakura kindly. She was whispering something, she couldn't remember what, except that she was holding a yang symbol in her hand. In the background she could hear her dad yelling and throwing things in the kitchen. But the next sentence her mother uttered was never to be forgotten. _

"_Even if I'm not around anymore, I'll always be with you. I will keep the other half, the yin, and never forget what you meant to me."_

_Sakura had not understood those words then. But if only ..._

Sakura shook her head, putting those memories at the back of her mind. She was not going to remind herself of the guilt she felt for years or the envy of just wiping herself off the face of the earth. Her father was gone and she had friends now, good friends and a good school ... well, if it could be called a school ... She was sorely reminded her training was beginning the next day. She went to her desk and picked up her time-table.

Her eyes went wide when she saw that there was no normal subject. And she had to learn_Russian _?!

_6:00 Russian with Shizune (two hour period )_

_8:00 Explosives training and handling with Deidara_

_9:00 Equipment management with Jiraya_

_10:00 Combat skills ( here knife fighting ; two hour period ) with Kurenai_

_12:00 Intelligence and general knowledge with Kakashi-sensei_

_1:00 Private swimming lessons with Sabaku no Gaara_

_1:30 Lunch_

_2:00 Martial arts ( two hour period ) with Asuma_

_4:00 PE or intensive sport with Gai-sensei ( two hour period )_

_6:00 End of lessons, dinner_

_6:30 Homework time, surveillance by Orochimaru _

_8:00 Lights out, electricity ends_

Sakura reread the time-table to make sure they were being serious. Shizune had said the training was going to be intensive, but six hours of sports a day was maybe overdoing it a bit. She sighed. At least she was going get fit in no time. Her eyes wandered to the line saying private swimming lessons. Did they know ? And why the hell was she doing it with Gaara ! Didn't he have more important things to do ?

The rosette sighed again. She'd better have everything unpacked, it was going to be an hard start tomorrow. Not to mention early. She hung the necklace around her neck, and proceeded to unpack the rather large suitcase. She was not hungry anymore even though she had missed lunch.

Unpacking took a good few hours, and it was six before Ino opened her bedroom door. Sakura looked up, back aching from bending down too much. "Hi ! We were wondering why you didn't come for lunch. Did Shizune really take that much time ?"

"Actually not that much. I just came straight back here to unpack. Are your days always as filled as this ?" Sakura handed her time-table to the blond, hoping for her that wasn't the case.

"Sometimes. Depends which days. So you've got Russian ? I got French. We all get different languages here, to suit what we look like. Temari got Spanish and Tenten's doing Italian. Hinata will be with you, she's doing Russian," Ino replied, handing the piece of paper back to Sakura. "Dinner's gonna be served in a few minutes. Wanna come with us ? Otherwise there's food in your bedroom fridge."

The rosette looked at her fridge then back to Ino. "I think I'll stay in my bedroom for the time being. Get used to stuff." Ino smiled at her and went for the door. She turned her head once she was at the doorway.

"Electricity really does cut off before eight, even if your in the middle of washing your hair. That happened to me once, and from experience do try to not do that. Going to bed with soap still stuck in your hair is not a very nice feeling," Ino finished before closing the door behind her.

Sakura stood there, smile already forming on her lips. She looked out of her window. It was dark, even at this time as clouds gathered in the night. The rosette had always loved nightime. She went to grab a coat in her wardrobe and walked out, this time careful to lock the door.

The night air was fresh, dew was already starting to form on the leaves. There wasn't anybody outside, dinner was ready. She walked straight to the swimming pool, as if called by it. When she finally arrived, the moon could just be seen in between the clouds. She shrugged off her coat, and sat beside the water.

It brought her back many bad memories. Sakura took a deep breath and closed her eyes, concentrating on the gentle lapping of the water, and not on those thoughts.

"What are doing here ?" a voice asked her. She turned around, to see no other than Gaara. His features could barely be distinguishable in the darkness, but his eyes shone in the moonlight. She smiled, and turned back around to face the water.

"And why aren't you having dinner with the others ? " Sakura asked, knowing the obvious answer.

Gaara looked at her closely. He could only see the back of her head right now, but he had caught glimpses of her eyes. Emerald, bright and happy, but he could see what they hid. Fear and guilt. " I could ask you the same question," he finally answered.

A long silence followed. Sakura could still feel his presence behind her. She decided to answer his first question. "I'm trying to get used to the water."

"You're afraid of water ?" Gaara mused. Every one was afraid of something but _water_ ? He knew those cases existed, but better be afraid of something else. Most people were afraid of him, and even that was understandable.

"Something like that," Sakura laughed, trying to cheer herself up. Swimming lessons terrified her, as did the usually dark, swirling water.

Gaara understood now why Tsunade had given him the girl. People who had a phobia of something usually did not even want to go near it, but in this case the rosette was trying to get used to it. Patience was not one of Gaara's virtues, and they needed the girl soon. He sighed, walked up to her and sat down, him too facing the water. They sat quietly, side by side, not one uttering a word until the eight o'clock bell rang. Gaara sighed.

"Go to bed. Mornings are harder than you think." Sakura nodded, and left without looking back. It was Gaara, this time who looked at her leaving, wondering what could have caused her fear. It was not one she held since birth, he could sense that. So she probably could swim. What was the problem was getting her into the water.

Tomorrow would be a long day for both of them.


	3. Chapter 3

Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented. It was ruled "**G**entlemen** O**nly **L**adies** F**orbidden" ... Thus the word "Golf" entered the English dictionary.

Not that that has anything to do with the story. Anyway ... I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters.

* * *

The next morning _was _hard. Getting up at 5:30 every day was not going to help Sakura's mood. But she knew Ino was probably saying the truth when students had to get up at 3:00 the next morning to run laps if ever late to breakfast or any kind of lesson. 

So grumbling and muttering things to herself she got up rather quickly and pulled on her school uniform. It was a black pleated skirt and a blue and white shirt. Make-up was not something she thought useful if she was going to do six hours of sport a day. She pulled out her time-table and looked at her first hour lesson. _Great. Two hours of Russian with Shizune. _Sakura decided she'd ask Hinata where the room was. She walked out of her room, tying her hair up and locking the door behind her.

She arrived at the breakfast room just on time, and headed off to girl's table. They were all bubbly, excited and full of energy. " Sakura ! There you are," cried out Ino. "First lesson starts in fifteen minutes. Hinata volunteered to bring you there since you're together."

Sakura sat down at the table and began eating. "How do you do to be so full of energy so early in the morning ?" she asked despairingly. Temari laughed.

"You get used to it I suppose. I've been here since the age of twelve, but the first morning here I felt just like you."

"Let me guess ... This morning you felt like you just wanted to murder someone ?" Sakura looked in surprise at Tenten.

"Yeah ... I guess you all felt that, right ?" Sakura slumped on her chair, having finished eating. The girls nodded, looking sympathetically at the new girl. The first three days for someone unfit was torture. Hinata looked at her watch.

"We'd b-better g-get going i-if we d-don't want t-to b-be late," the navy-haired girl stuttered. She stood up, Sakura following suit. They left the cafeteria, Hinata leading the way. "I d-don't usually have any f-friends in the Russian class, so I-I'm glad you're here, S-Sakura-san," she continued, not stopping.

"Just call me Sakura. I'm the new girl here, so technically I'm the one who should call you Hinata-san," Sakura smiled, starting to get out of breath from the brisk walking. Hinata laughed, and nodded her head.

Finally they arrived in front of a large building. Hinata stopped. "S-Shizune-san will give you t-the material we need for the lesson. She hates p-people who arrive l-late. I once d-did it." The young girl shivered. "I-It's not one of my b-best memories." Sakura cringed. The second adult she met was as crazy as the first one. Was that normal ?

They entered the classroom. Shizune was not there, but the bell hadn't rung yet. The classroom was spacious, and about fifteen students sat talking, some on the desks. Others read what looked to be very complicated books, and the rest looked as if they were finishing rapidly their homework.

"T-There is a five m-minute break in between each hour, so when t-the bell rings once you c-can go out, and when it rings a second time you h-have to go back in," Hinata explained, taking a seat in front of her desk. The one next to it was empty so Sakura sat down. As soon as she had finished taking her things out of her bag, the bell rung and Shizune walked in. She came straight to Sakura's desk and put down a heavy load of complicated books. Sakura just looked at them, trying to decipher at least on letter.

Hinata helped her out, pointing which one was Monday's book. In all there were seven large books, each one for a different day of the week and one exercise book, or homework book. Shizune didn't introduce Sakura, and started the lesson at once. The rosette had always been good at languages, and at the end of the hour she thought she had understood a few things. The bell rang, and all the students stood up, some of them stretching.

Sakura looked more closely at the books, and found one she understood. "Hinata, this book is about medicine and it's not in Russian, why ?" she asked. Medicine and Russia wasn't really related in her eyes.

Hinata slumped back down in her chair. "Once a week instead of Russian we have first aid lessons. It usually happens on a Wednesday," she explained in a soft voice. Sakura couldn't help smiling.

"Hinata, you didn't stutter !" exclaimed the rosette.

Hinata blushed. "I usually don't stutter talking to my friends, only people I'm nervous around." As soon as she said that the bell rang again, and the hour of Russian ticked slowly away.

When the bell rang signaling the end of the lesson, Sakura understood why some people stretched after the lesson. History of Russia in second hour was most certainly not the most interesting thing. The rosette asked Hinata where the explosive training and handling took place. Hinata pointed to a building just in front, "The room number is 215. Be careful with Deidara-san, he's quite ... strange. I have PE now, so I'll see you later." Sakura waved to the retreating form and walked down the the other building.

After a few classroom numbers, Sakura finally found room 215. Deidara was already there, amusing himself by creating little explosions on his desk. He didn't notice her coming in, and wanting to keep it that way she went to the back of the classroom.

"Is this seat taken ?" she asked a boy who looked as if he had fallen asleep. He opened one lazy eye.

"Troublesome," he muttered quietly to himself, though Sakura heard him. "No it isn't. Name's Shikamaru." And with that he closed his eye and seemed to go back to sleep. Sakura cocked her head to one side._Weird_. She sat down as the bell rang. At once it Deidara looked at the class and exclaimed, "Art is a bang ! Yeah !" His one visible eye drifted to Sakura. "Class, we have a new student ! Her name by what Tsunade told me was Sakura, yeah !"

She didn't need to present herself as Deidara started to explain the mechanism of explosives. He taught them how to use, activate and inactivate bombs. By the time the bell rang Shikamaru still hadn't opened his eyes, and his hair was slightly singed where Deidara had gone mad when he realized the boy wasn't listening. But the point was she still didn't know where the next lesson was going to be held.

Sakura poked Shikamaru. He grumbled to himself but still didn't open his eyes. She poked him harder. This time the boy decided to open them. "What do you want, troublesome woman ?" he demanded, annoyed someone had woken him up.

"Do you know where Equipment management is ?" Sakura asked, hoping it wouldn't be too far away.

"Same classroom," was his last reply before closing his eyes again. The rosette growled. At 9:00 in the morning, her mood was still not the best one. She refrained herself from punching the living day-lights out of him, and sat back down.

Jiraya was a fifty-year old perverted man. Gray hair and looked like a hobo. People were definitely strange here. He didn't notice her presence, but placed a wooden box in front of each of them. He then proceeded to lock the classroom. He cleared his throat. "Today is just a simple lock-picking exercise. The key to get out of the classroom is situated inside the locked box. If you can't get out of the classroom, well tough. You'll have to run ten laps with Gai next morning for having arrived late at the next class. Next to the box is a lock gun, or more commonly known as a lock pick. Use it to open the box. You may now start."

Lock-picking was harder than she thought. It took her a good forty-five minutes to get it open. By that time only half the class had left, so she felt quite proud. She unlocked the classroom and stepped out. Shikamaru was still snoring his head off, having not even attempted once to open the box. Luckily she had managed to extract some information from him. Training skills was on the grassy area Ino had showed her the first day. She had fifteen minutes to get there and change. Without further thoughts she walked briskly away from the class.

The changing rooms were quiet, except for Tenten who squealed as she saw Sakura. "Ino told me you had knife fighting ! Finally I won't be alone with her !"

"Her ? And you mean we're just three doing this type of fighting ?" Sakura asked, surprised. There were a lot of students here, more than she had expected. So why were there only three people ?

Tenten lowered her voice, "We were only two before you came. You have to a have a certain shape of body and perfect control over balance. As for the other girl, I've heard she's off sick today. But don't go near her. She's probably the sluttiest, bitchiest girl I've ever known." Sakura laughed at Tenten's growing red face.

They walked together to the grassy pitch, Tenten explaining different techniques and poses. Visibly she loved the sport. A woman was standing on the pitch, visibly waiting for them. "Are we late ?" asked Sakura worriedly. She did NOT want to run laps at three in the morning. Tenten had no time to reply as Kurenai spoke.

"I see you've already met Tenten. Tsunade said you might be good at knife-fighting so I decided I'd try you out. Karin is ... still in the infirmary today so you'll just be two. First hour of the period I will teach you the different poses and techniques, then for the second hour you'll train with Tenten, hoping she will not do what happened before," Kurenai said, before throwing two knives at Sakura.

The rosette surprised herself by catching them in flight. She already had experience in this. Her mother had taught her how to deflect or catch knives. But when Kurenai decided to attack, Sakura suddenly realized her mother had perhaps forgotten to teach her the offensive side. In two seconds flat the rosette was disarmed.

The rest of the lesson was mostly spent that way, and at the end of the hour, Sakura could withstand Kurenai's attacks for around two minutes. When the bell rang, the woman raised herself from her crouched position, dusted herself off and announced, "I like you, Sakura. You will continue with the lessons. Tenten will be your sparring partner. Now, you know what I said about the second hour." Sakura nodded, walking to where Tenten was training.

The brunette was panting hard from her own training. But she looked extremely happy when Sakura announced she was continuing. She then lowered her voice. "What did you do before that Kurenai hopes will not happen again ?" she whispered, preparing herself for the strangest and most disturbing answer. Which was, in fact, what she got.

Tenten sighed. "Karin, the girl I spare with, was getting on my nerves. She likes Sasuke, and acts all slutty around him. Then she called me an idiot because Neji was not handsome, which by the way he is, and cause I was going out with him." Tenten sighed again and muttered "stupid girl" in a low voice. Sakura waited for her to continue.

"And ...?"

"And I threw her some shuriken ..." Tenten was silent for a while, as if thinking. She sighed once more and continued. "That she unfortunately failed to... ahem... avoid." The brunette's eyes glinted with malice. Sakura gulped silently. _Okay, don't piss off Tsunade cause you won't have any more teeth, don't piss off Shizune cause she'll ensure you're with Gai for the rest of the week, don't piss off Deidara cause he'll explode you up in pieces, certainly don't piss off Tenten..._ Sakura was making a mental list of who not to piss off._ Did I forget someone ? Ah yes, don't piss off Jiraya or he'll lock you in the classroom... Argh ! Just don't piss off anyone !!!_

The bell couldn't be heard from where they were but Kurenai's yelling at them to start broke her off mental list. A kunai sped past her head. She slowly turned her head, facing Tenten who was smirking._Thus the real character of the beast was revealed... Along with it's fury ..._

Sakura walked slowly to her general knowledge class, cuts and bruises littering her body. Anyone outside the school would have said she got beat up by a gang. But everyone passing her knew she was going to be Tenten's next sparring partner. Even Neji, the human ice-cube, smirked when she sat next to him in class. She glared at him then slumped down on her desk. "I seriously don't know how I'm going to survive PE with Gai if everyone says how much torture is involved," she sighed more to her self. She had a limp, her left arm was sore. "Not to mention I've still got martial arts after."

Neji kept smirking. "Trust me, the first three days are pure torture. Then you simply get through the pain. Though I don't envy you for being Tenten's sparring partner". Sakura kept glaring at him. The bell rung shortly after. No teacher came.

Ten minutes later he still wasn't there. "What the hell is he doing ?" she asked dangerously. A certain blond sitting in front of her looked her way. She recognized him as Naruto. So there was Hinata's crush.

"Kakashi-sensei's always late ! Then he tries stupid excuses ! Too bad there aren't the same punishments for the teachers and the students," Naruto half-yelled. _Well Ino did warn me he was a bit one the hyper-active side._ And the blond hyper-active boy was true to his word.

Kakashi-sensei arrived twenty minutes later, around already half an hour into the lesson. "Yo. Sorry I'm late, got lost," was his one sentence before sitting down and opening a porn book.

"LIAR !!!" yelled half the class, Naruto probably shouting the loudest. The hour ( or only half an hour ) went by fast, Kakashi jotting down things on the blackboard and reading. Sakura felt herself a bit stressed out. As the bell rang, the rosette's nerves went on high. She looked at her time-table.

_Swimming lessons with Gaara. _


	4. Chapter 4

THANKS TO ALL THE REVIEWERS !!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU !!!!! Lol

So ... Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Naruto, and neither do you !! ( I got that from a story somewhere along the lines )

* * *

"Jump in." 

"No."

"Get in the water."

"I said no."

The argument between Sakura and Gaara was lasting a long time, and by that time, the lesson was already nearly over. The rosette was stubbornly refusing to dive in the deep water.

"I'll push you in," Gaara tried as a last idea. His patience was getting very thin. Though he had lasted longer than he expected.

"You do that, I swear I will kill you. I've got Tenten, Hinata, Ino who will help me. And guess what ? You older sister, Temari will help me too," Sakura angrily exclaimed. Little brothers were in general terrified of their older sisters. Unfortunately in Gaara's case he looked as calm and as menacing as ever. _Is this guy scared of nothing ?_

Sakura looked over to the pool. Ten meters deep, no way in hell would she jump in that. She sighed, then noticed a shallower pool just next to it. Gaara seemed to notice her looking at the shallow end. Well, shallow being around a meter fifty deep. Just enough to have foot.

"Let's go other there for the last ten minutes," he said calmly. He started to walk away, not checking to see if Sakura was following him or not. The rosette muttered something under her breath, ran to catch him up but slipped on a puddle of water. She closed her eyes, waiting for the impact to come. It didn't. She felt two strong arms catch her around the waist. She looked up, to see Gaara's face looking at horizon. The wind ruffled his slightly wet hair, longer than usual and falling across his eyes... She started blushing. Then it cliqued.

Sakura jumped out of his arms, looking at the spot he had been and the spot he was now. "How ... How did you ...?" she managed to say before Gaara gave her an expression that clearly meant 'training'. "Ah ..." she muttered to herself.

They walked over to the pool, Sakura being careful around the slippery bits. Gaara jumped into the water, being too shallow to dive in. He turned toward her, arms outstretched. The rosette knew he'd catch her. She _did _want to swim again, feel the coolness against her skin, manage to overcome her fear.

She sat down, legs inching slowly in the water. Gaara looked at her silently, seeing her breaths becoming lightly faster, her eyes beginning to cloud. Once her knees in the water, Sakura felt fear in her body, and was paralyzed to move further. She covered her expression difficultly with a half-smile. " I think that's my limit," she said softly, not trusting her voice. Gaara got out of the water and began walking away. The rosette felt she had disappointed him and looked away. Her ears perked up when she heard his voice though, silent and barely audible. But she still heard it. "You did well."

Sakura walked over to the once-quiet changing rooms. The room was full of chattering girls now, changing after PE, martial arts or combat skills. The rosette dressed quickly and walked off to the cafeteria. Her attention was at once drawn to girl currently trying to drown a blond boy with a water holder, and a navy-blue haired girl trying to calm the fuming one down. It took a few seconds for Sakura to realize who they were. Ino, Naruto and Hinata. Tenten and Temari were just talking to each other as if nothing was happening. Sakura slowly walked to the table.

"Sakura !!!!" Ino cried out, letting her hold slip on Naruto. Hinata breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sakura-chan ! Help me !" the blond boy wailed. Sakura twitched, her mood had not changed since the morning. Naruto seemed to realize this and quickly turned away. Sakura sat down.

"What did he do ?" she asked Ino tiredly.

"He tried to steal my food !" Ino accused, pointing a finger at him. "Next time I'll poke out your eyeballs with a fork, I'll pick out your oesophagi with a knife, I'll put bamboo sticks you under your nails, I'll paper cut you between the fingers, I'll..."

"Ino, enough with the gross details," Sakura cut in before the matter got too out of hand. Naruto nodded to say he agreed with her. But the rosette turned to him. "I swear if you continue doing that I'll do all the things sited in Ino's list. I didn't get expelled out of four schools for nothing."

Naruto shut up at that, and left to go with the boys, throwing fearful glances at her. "Did you really get expelled from four schools ?" Ino asked unbelievingly.

"No."

The girls looked towards Sakura now she had finally finished her threats with Naruto. Tenten made puppy-dog eyes because she thought she may have been too harsh in the training and Temari was laughing about her brother instructing the rosette's swimming lessons. She soon finished and went to her next class, martial arts. Temari was doing with her.

They arrived at the dojo, Asuma smoking as usual. Temari leaned in to whisper in her ear. "Apparently him and Kurenai have been dating."

Sakura was surprised. "No way !" she said quietly. The two hours went by fast. Sakura felt as if she couldn't move anymore. Bruises littered her body now, not just stinging cuts. She hurt all over when the bell finally rang. Temari kicked hard, she said she had training with her brothers annoying her. Sakura laughed but it was cut short when she clutched her stomach, pain coursing through.

Temari giggled. "I wish you good luck with PE, my youthful friend !" And with that she left. Sakura walked slowly to change into her gym clothes, each move agonizing. She finally managed it and went towards the training course, where the laps usually took place. She arrived last but still on time. There stood before her a man in a green suit, stars twinkling in his eyes and teeth shining an unnatural gleam. She sweat-dropped.

"As I see we've all arrived, let us start, my youthful friends ! Start on five laps, that makes five miles !" The students groaned, all except one. That one boy looked disturbingly like Gai. "Yes, Gai-sensei ! Let the flower of youth be with all of us !" he cried out, tears forming in his eyes.

"Well said, my youthful Lee !"

"Gai-sensei !"

"Lee !"

"Gai-sensei !"

"Lee !"

Thus this continued for around five whole minutes before Gai noticed his class was looking at him in a strange way. "Let us go, my youthful friends ! I will accompany you on the path of youthfulness !" He started running, the class slagging behind him. Sakura groaned. How on earth was she going to survive five miles when a few steps was utter pain ?

The girls had been right when they said PE was pure torture and probably the most painful class. At three miles, Sakura's lungs were burning and her legs felt like they were going to fall off. The other people looked fine though. _Must be used to it_, Sakura panted. Finally she had finished the five laps. She nearly collapsed from exhaustion. But Gai left them no time to breathe as he announced, "Now you have finished that youthful exercise, you can now start on one hundred pumps my youthful friends !" And so the lesson dragged on for two hours of pure torture.

When the bell finally rang she felt saved. In the middle of throwing weights, her arms felt they were going to literally fall off. She dropped the ten-kilo weight at once, landing quite painfully one someone's toe. But Sakura was much too tired to care.

She went straight to dinner after changing, half-sleeping on the table. The four girls looked at her, remembering their first day of lessons. And Sakura did actually look pretty good for what she had done. Temari, on her first day, had been too tired to go to dinner or surveillance time. It had unfortunately resulted in getting up at three next morning to run ten laps.

Ino pocked at Sakura's forehead. "Hey, forehead-girl, are you tired ?" she asked, pocking harder.

Sakura growled. "What does it look like, Ino-pig?"

Dinner was over with her just eating what she needed. She was too tired to care anyway. Tenten dragged Sakura off to homework time, under the care of the snake-expert, Orochimaru. He hissed like one when he noticed the girl arriving just as the bell rang. "You girlssss are lucky you did not come a sssecond later." Sakura, in spite of her fatigue, glared at him. She forced herself to wake up, and with Hinata's help managed to finish just before the end. Now she had half an hour to have a shower, brush her teeth and get ready. Joy. More rushing.

Tenten and Temari half-dragged her to her room, making her promise she would not destroy her alarm clock next morning and sleep until nine. That had already happened to both girls. "Getting up early is better than waking up and nine and knowing you've missed three lessons," Temari, the helpful one explained.

"Cause then it won't be ten laps you run in the morning but thirty !" Tenten joyfully explained as if it were the most normal thing ever. With that they both left, Sakura making mental notes not under any circumstances destroy her alarm clock.

After a just-in time shower, Sakura fell on her bed, too tired to register she was still in her towel. She closed her eyes, knowing the next few days would be exactly the same.

But Tsunade in her drunken state, siting in her office was preparing a mission for Sakura, on that would be important and sooner than she was going to expect.


	5. Chapter 5

Ookaaay ... Sorry for being a bit late in updating ... Tests, books to read in a three day margin ... IT IS CRUEL TO OVERGIVE CHILDREN HOMEWORK !!!!! um ... teenagers...

Anyway. I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters.

And for mwth06 : YES !!!!! I've heard of it ! My best friend reads it ... Isn't it about a boy that loses his mother or something ?

... Did you know the first couple to be shown in bed together on prime TV was Fred and Wilma Flintstone ?

* * *

Sakura did not bust her alarm clock next morning. Nor did she for the next days, however tired and in pain she was. Russian was more complicated than she thought possible, not to mention the quantity of homework. Deidara was as strange as before, and the rosette wondered how Shikamaru could avoid the full explosions and just get the top of his head singed. 

Scratches were adding up and she now counted around twenty cuts on each arms, and more on her legs. But Tenten and Kurenai were good teachers, and she had started learning a new disarming technique that had even worked on the brunette. Martial arts ... were still extremely painful. She had managed to land a good kick on Temari though, knocking the breath out of her. PE was still the most painful thing she ever had endured. She was shocked the first time she vomited through too much exercise, but apparently most people did on their first days.

And swimming lessons were ... not really improving. Sakura now managed to sit by the pool, the water up to her knees. But as soon as she tried going in further, she blocked and couldn't go further in. But she was slowly getting better.

That day she was sitting by the pool, legs dangling in, waiting for the red-head to come. It was Thursday, already four days into her training. And the rosette decided to try and make him impressed. All she'd been doing for the whole week was sitting there doing nothing. But she was released from Kakashi's class early, so managed to get to pool early.

She slowly inched her legs further in. Fear was painfully growing in her stomach but she ignored it. Sakura was now nearly standing in the swimming pool, her arms the only thing that were holding her up.

She let go, and slid into the water. It came to her collarbone, and Sakura was nearly hyperventilating by this time. _Calm down. Just calm down. Nothing's going to happen and you know it._

The rosette managed to calm down a bit and take long breaths of air. Sakura still couldn't swim, and still hung on to the wall, but she felt better. Finally she'd achieved something in this school !

At that moment the gate swung open and Gaara appeared, towel swung across his shoulders. "Sorry I'm late," he said, back towards Sakura, closing the gate. "Gai wouldn't let us out before we finished our laps." He turned around, no rosette in sight. "Sakura ?" he asked, still not seeing her.

"Hai, I'm here," Sakura called in a soft voice as she still wasn't trusting it.

Gaara looked from where the voice came from, and finally noticed her. She was... In the water. Looking pretty pale but still in the water. He walked towards her. "I see you're finally in. Good," he said, face not changing expression. Sakura's eyes flickered towards his, showing him her hidden emotions. Fear, relief and joy. Strange combination. He sighed, ran a hand through his hair, messing it even more, and sat down beside her her, his legs dangling in the water.

"Tsunade assigned you on a mission. She told me as soon as you got in the water to alert her. Apparently your training's been going quite well, and she needs someone to go. The others are not suitable enough, because they're either too young or too old, or are already going on a mission," Gaara explained. Sakura looked at him, asking him silently to go on.

"You'll go to her office during homework time, Orochimaru's been told about it. I'll go with you as she wants to see me too," he finished off. The red-head wasn't good at explaining, but hoped Sakura understood. Apparently she did, as she smiled slightly.

"So to get this straight, I'm meeting Tsunade instead of seeing Snake-face for an hour, and you're coming too ? When do we leave ?" Sakura asked, getting bubblier by the minute. Ino's character was slowly getting to her.

Gaara watched in some kind of amusement, but kept his face blank. "I have to go report to Tsunade. You can have free period until lunch. I'll be seeing you this evening." And with that he turned and left, not saying a word more. Sakura just looked at him go, happy she was finally going to do something. She shook her head and carefully got out of the water, heading for lunch.

To her surprise the girls did not react happily when the received the news. Ino looked down at her plate, Temari played around with her food. The other two looked at her with sad eyes.

"What ?" Sakura asked. She was starting to feel something was wrong here.

Tenten answered her question. "We were a group of seven before. Temari, Ino, Hinata, Kiba, Choji, Sai and me. The boys all came at nearly the same time, and around one week after training started, they were sent off to a mission some place."

Ino then continued for her. "We never saw them again. They never came back, and this dates back to around a year ago. One night I heard Tsunade screaming at her elders. What I understood was that the superiors were wondering about how loyal and strong we could become." The blond stayed silent.

"A rule was set that each student has to go on a mission during their first week. If Tsunade thinks you're worth it, she'll send a senior with you. Otherwise you go on your own," a shy voice practically whispered. Hinata looked pale and if she was about to faint. Sakura could feel a lump in her throat.

"Kiba, Choji and Sai went on a mission together, with no experience. And you can guess what happened." Temari had stopped playing around with her food.

"Ah," was all Sakura could muster. She didn't really mind if she didn't make it. She would see her mother again ... _Bad thoughts. Bad, bad, bad. You'll make it. Didn't Gaara say Tsunade wanted to see him too ?_

Temari butted in. "Well let's look on the bright side. Gaara told me Tsunade wanted to see him for some reason. And apparently your training has been going quite well. So if we add all of those things up..."

"You're going on a mission with Gaara-kun !!!!!" Ino yelled. Sakura blushed. She just had to yell it in the whole room so that everybody knew. Oh joy.

"Ino-pig. Shut up !" Sakura hissed, but the four girls were already laughing their heads off as if nothing happened. Well, except Hinata who was chuckling quietly to herself. Suddenly Tenten went stiff.

"Gotta go ! I'll see you guys later !" she called out. The rosette watched her go in the direction of a certain Hyuuga. She laughed quietly when she saw them kissing, before leaving them to their intimacy. The four others did not have a notion of privacy, as they sniggered and pointed in a childish way.

The bell rang, signaling end of lunch. "I'll see you guys later !" the rosette called as she and Temari hurried to the martial arts class.

The rest of day passed quickly, maybe not including PE, but still rather fast. Soon the end of dinner bell rang, and Sakura hurried to Tsunade's office. That was before she realized she couldn't remember where it was._Shit. Come on ! You've been there once. You can remember where it is. _

"It's this way," a voice cut in. Sakura went red, knowing who that voice was.

"Sorry. I really couldn't remember where it was so..." Sakura managed to stutter, but Gaara had already gone past her and was walking off. The rosette followed him, and soon they both stood in front of the principal's office. The red-head knocked, and a mutter of approval was heard from the other side.

Tsunade sat at her desk, stacks of paper and what seemed to be sake bottles littering the floor. She looked towards them, amber eyes locking in to Gaara's then Sakura's orbs. She sighed.

"Good. I'm glad to see you're both here. I was thinking Sakura might have gotten lost but apparently not." Sakura cringed a bit on that. "Anyway, rule decrees I've got to send a new student on a A classed mission, to see if they're worth it or not. So I'm assigning both of you to the mission. It's an important one so I don't want failure." Tsunade paused, and looked at Sakura.

"There is an illegal drugs and weapon company somewhere along the outskirts of London. The big boss has a so called "brother", that I think, if my information is correct, is just a close working partner in his twenties or so. Sakura, I want you to get as close as him as possible, no matter what. He's still quite naïve and you might managed to get information out of him." Tsunade's eyes flickered to Gaara's.

"And as for you, Gaara, you know what to do I hope." Gaara nodded. He already done quite a few missions.

"One question. What are we posing as ?" Gaara asked in a quiet voice, as if he was straining to speak.

"Well you can't pose as brothers and sisters. I would have asked Temari for that. I marked on the sheet you were to pose as a kind of couple."

"Kind of ?" Sakura asked, not very sure of the meaning.

"As to not disturb your relationship with our co-worker, I want you to pose as that only if things really get out of hands. Otherwise you're just good friends," Tsunade said, fishing a bottle of sake under her desk. "You leave tomorrow at the roundabouts of six. Be packed for around a week and meet Shizune at the front of the school. Understood ? Very well, you both may leave now."

Gaara turned round and left at once, Sakura following quickly behind, thinking already at the things she was going to pack, and what the next day would bring. Hoping the elders weren't actually trying to get rid of her.


	6. Chapter 6

Okay ... I don't really know what to say this time ... Oh yes !! Thanks to all the reviewers !

Which are : Blazing Aurora, AlaskenWildflower, Love of Midoriko ( the best reviewer ! ), Dark Destiny, LacarinoxTiegegun, Joey's-mine, sammyamber123, chesca13321, mk-chan160, darkcrystalwings, Lizzy, Inu-ru831, Uniquely ironic, mwth06, Shadow Wolf Princess24 and PandaBaaChan.

I don't own Naruto ...

* * *

Sakura shuffled on her feet. The wind blew coldly against her skin, and she didn't have a very warm coat on. She sighed. And with all of this, they were supposed to go to London in a _car_. How many hours would that take ? Ten, twelve ? Why couldn't they take the_ airplane _? _People could trace you with your boarding ticket. _

The rosette leaned against the rock wall, tired of standing up. It seemed that the person who was supposed to meet them was like Kakashi. Late, and very late. She glanced at Gaara, who was standing straight, not at all disturbed by the cold weather. He had not uttered a word since he arrived, even with Sakura's many attempts at engaging conversation. Shizune had come and gone, giving them both extra bags containing needed clothes for events and burglaries, and material.

A voice broke her out of her thoughts. "He's here," was Gaara's stiff voice. Sakura looked in his direction. A black mini-cab was driving towards them. The driver couldn't be seen as the windows were tainted. _Tainted ? We're going to look really suspicious now. _Sakura mentally grumbled, not happy the driver had made them wait one hour before finally deciding to pick them up. They weren't allowed to wear their school uniforms either. And the only clothes Sakura had after her family's death was ... pretty dark. She just hoped Shizune had put colorful clothes in.

The mini-bus stopped in front of them, the window rolling down. A middle-aged man could now be seen, with long gray hair tied in a pony-tail and dark sunglasses covering his eyes. There wasn't any sun though. Sakura just stared at the extravagant middle-aged man. Gaara didn't seem fazed as the rosette looked from the man to him, to the man to him. His eyes flickered to hers, silencing her for the moment. She just opted to staring at him instead.

The man in question pointed a thumb to the back of the cab, and exclaimed in a Californian accent, "Well ? What are waiting for ? Get in, I don't have all day !"

Sakura looked at Gaara with desperate eyes. He answered her with an amused smirk before pushing her into the back. Once seated, the rosette made sure her safety belt was well on. She had the impression this man used to ride powerful bikes on dirt roads, and had not really accepted the laws of modern driving. As if to answer her, Gaara whispered so that only she heard, "He hasn't actually passed his drivers' license. Police have no record of him, nor where he drives or the people he drives."

Sakura didn't have time to answer as the gray-haired man turned towards them, sunglasses partially hiding his face. _Someone reminds me of Kakashi here ... _

"Well hi kids, nice to see to see you. It won't be so nice when I'll have to bring your battered bodies though, the ride might be a bit tough. So if you don't want to break a leg yet or any other parts of you body, I'd recommend you to buckle up." The man turned his back on them, then turned yet again to face them, as if he had forgotten to tell them something. _Probably about how we'll have to wash the seats if we come back half-dead and bleeding. _

"By the way, my name's Chuck." And with that, he hit the accelerator pedal. The cab screeched on the tarmac, and left at top speed. Sakura lurched out of her seat, restrained only by her safety belt. Chuck laughed maniacally in the front seat, as if driving a bike in Arizona. The rosette glanced at Gaara. The same 'I don't care about anything' expression was etched on his face. And for once, she actually saw him with his clothes on and not only swimming shorts. It seemed like he liked the color black too, though he had lightened it up with a red and black hoodie. _Lightened it up ? Yeah right ..._

The same could be said of Sakura, though she had tried her best to not wear anything black. She had half -succeeded in that. A short white pleated skirt and black laced up boots. Black long-sleeved shirt. And so that her hair did not get in the way of her face, she had tied it up with a red ribbon. Make-up seemed necessary as she had to seduce the co-founder. But she never really had been a fan of having gunk around her eyes.

The road was going to be long, and with the driver's continuing laughter, she decided maybe sleep was the best option. She closed her eyes, ready to receive the well-needed sleep.

_Darkness encircled her. She couldn't breath, couldn't call out. Her hand grappled forwards, fingers extending to grasp some imaginary doorway that could not be found. The other hand went to her neck as she gasped for breath. Tears escaped her eyes. Then suddenly, a light, as if a candle had been light up. Voices called out to her. She gasped, running towards them. But as she reached her destination, darkness once again took over, this time doubled by an excruciating pain in the head._

Sakura woke up suddenly and stifled a cry. Sweat had just started to form on her forehead, but the pain, the dull thud of a headache was still there. Her eyes flickered to Gaara's. It seemed that he hadn't noticed anything, he appeared more concentrated. The rosette started hearing the driver's voice and understood why. Chuck was telling them about their hotel, where they would be staying and what they had to do.

"I see missy here has just woken up. I was saying that the hotel you were to stay in is the hotel where this young man is currently at. Sakura, you will have the room on the fourth floor next to the window and next to our gentleman's room. Mr psychopath 'I want to kill everything that moves' will be staying in the room just across from Pinky's," Chuck was saying in his hard American accent, not regarding Gaara's growl or Sakura's stare.

The rosette sighed to herself, ignoring the rest of what the driver had to say. She looked out of the tainted glass, her hand unconsciously gripping her yin shaped necklace. The headache was still there, but bearable this time. The view outside was not at all familiar to her. A big tower like clock, a gigantic big-eye and a river flowing next to it. Then it cliqued.

"Wait a minute ..." she muttered, interrupting Chuck's lecture about how motorbikes were built, "are we in ... like ... London ?"

The driver stared at her for a moment, then roared out laughing. "Did Pinky here forget to revise her geography ? No, this is the Sahara desert you know. Why do you think it's raining and cold ?" And Chuck laughed again as Sakura went red. From embarrassment or from fury, we shall never know. He chuckled a bit from the glare Sakura was giving him. Gaara kept his blank face straight, and his arms crossed. He would not take part in this dispute no matter what.

Chuck veered the mini-cab out of the way as he provoked a near accident. The vehicle slowly slowed to a stop next to a great castle-like building. He turned around once he was sure they were in no danger of accident, and said, "Well this is it guys, your final destination ! Call for the receptionist and use for names Sakura Mizu and Gaara Nobu. All clear ? Then get out of my car, you brats before you ruin it !"

Sakura didn't need to be asked twice as she leaped out of the dirty cab and opened the boot. Gaara followed closely behind. They pulled there bags out, and passers by looked at the strange couple. On with flaming red hair and the kanji or love tattooed on his forehead, the other with bright pink hair flying in the wind.

The rosette reached out to close to boot but found she couldn't reach it. She cursed and stood on her tip toes trying to reach it before another hand raised itself calmly and closed the boot. She looked at Gaara who was now wearing a red scarf. The rosette looked away and muttered her thanks to the teenager.

They walked to meet Chuck's head that was sticking out of the window. He had just lighted a cigarette and blew a puff of smoke. He smiled, showing yellow and gold teeth. "Well this is it. Hopefully I won't be bringing you back half-dead in two months. Oh, and Pinky, watch out. Heard the guy liked women more than he should." And with that, he wound up the tainted glass and left, the cab screeching as the tires burnt in the ground.

Sakura had blanched. No way had she expected to get close, _seduce_ a perverted man. Now that she knew this information, she just wanted to go back. Now she understood what Tsunade meant at proving their loyalty.

"Don't worry. I'm here," a voice whispered in her ear, making her skin tingle. She snatched her head around to see Gaara looking in her eyes. He then left, turning his back to her. She stayed there, looking at nothing, long wisps of pink hair blowing around her face in the cold wind.


	7. Chapter 7

I really don't know what to say, except thank you for all your support !

Do we always have to do this ? Sadly, I don't own Naruto.

* * *

The receptionist looked strangely at them when they came in. A teenage boy with blood-red coloured hair and a girl by his looking traumatized with pink hair. She couldn't figure out who looked the most exotic but waved the thought away by blaming it on youth's fashion.

The blond-haired receptionist smiled anyway, being the polite English-woman that she was. "Good afternoon, sir, miss. Do you have any reservations ?" she asked, already looking in her computer. Gaara grunted, so Sakura decided it would be best if she talked.

"Yes. We have reserved two rooms by the names of Mizu and Nobu. I believe they are on the fourth floor ?" Sakura said softly. The first thing that she had been taught was to give or a good impression or a bad impression depending on the mission. And here, it just seemed fitting to be polite. Which was more than could be said about Gaara, who had turned his head, his only answer being a grunt.

"Ah yes, you are correct. The names are not from here, am I right ? My daughter went to Japan once, and said those names were quite common round there. Yet you do not seem Asian," the receptionist said, trying to engage friendly conversation. Sakura, who wanted to find her room the quickest possible, just smiled and nodded.

"Anyway, here are your keys. Miss Mizu, room number 404. Mr Nobu, room number 407. I hope you have an enjoyable stay." The woman could only follow the smiling guideline as Gaara snatched the keys out of her hand, not uttering a word in response. As the odd pair walked towards the elevator, the receptionist sighed in relief. The girl with no doubt was kind and gentle, but what the hell was she doing with someone who looked as if they wanted to kill someone just for the sight of blood ? Maybe they were like the yin and the yang. After all, opposites did attract, didn't they ?

Sakura unlocked the door quietly, pushing it slowly open. She gasped and turned to Gaara. "Well, at least this man has good tastes in hotels," she chuckled nervously. Gaara grunted in response.

But the room really was beautiful. The walls were an inviting beige color, with a bird a tree branch painted on it. The bed was a single bed, but large enough to be extremely comfy. A desk was placed in one corner of the room and the sunlight played with the mirror. Looking back Sakura saw that the red-head had already entered his room and closed the door behind him._Typical_.

The rosette sighed to herself before lugging the heavy bag behind her and proceeding to unpack. She smiled to herself when she saw that Shizune had packed a string of colorful clothes. Red, pink and light blue were the dominant colors, but yellow, green, gray and stripy clothes were there too. But as the clothes came out, Sakura's smile started the falter. Nearly all the shirts left her stomach uncovered, the others left her back uncovered. And the bottoms were or very short skirts, short shorts or skin-tight jeans. _Oh what a choice. I am going to be seriously comfortable in these for the next two months._

Once she had finished unpacking, Sakura stretched and yawned. She hadn't slept that well the night before and was tired. But she shook herself and decided it was time to gather information. Mainly, to know this man's name. Leaving the room and locking it behind her, she hesitated to tell Gaara but thought it would be better not to. In her head she listed all the people who would know the name of this man. Easy, the receptionist.

The blond-haired woman was filing her nails when she saw the rosette coming down the stairs. She looked up and smiled as Sakura walked to the desk.

"Excuse me, but may I please ask you a favor ?" Sakura asked, playing shy._Think of Hinata. Imitate her._ "I was just wondering if you knew the name of the man who is in room 402, just next to room 404. You see, my brother booked a room just next to mine, but knowing him, he probably booked the wrong one ..." the rosette chuckled nervously, trying her best to blush.

The receptionist interrupted her. "What is the name of your brother ? I will look if he booked a room here." Sakura nearly yelled in exasperation but was able to hold her expression. It was time to invent an imaginary brother.

"His name is Mizu Tai. He is tall, black eyes and has black hair. Very handsome but doesn't look at all like me. My father used to joke about us being complete opposites, him being reserved and me being quite talkative but shy," Sakura responded, thinking quickly and adding detail to make him more life-like.

The woman laughed at Sakura's babbling and believed her without second thoughts. She typed quickly before shacking her head. "I'm sorry, miss, but no Mizu Tai booked a room here. Though the description is very similar to a young man who came. I think his name was Sasuke Uchiha ... But anyway, if you brother wants to..." The receptionist was interrupted by Sakura's small cry.

_Sasuke ? Sasuke ... Uchiha ? Wait, wasn't he the one Ino was talking about ? She said he was away ..._

"I'm sorry, it's just that Sasuke-kun was a childhood friend that I know very well. Could you tell me which room he is in ?" The rosette knew he was probably on a mission, but seeing he here, it might be the same one Gaara and she were doing.

"Unfortunately he booked in two months ago but canceled his stay two days later by phone. He didn't leave any private addresses so we won't be able to contact him for you. I apologize sincerely," the receptionist said.

"It doesn't matter. Thank you for your help anyway." Sakura plastered a well practiced smile on her face before turning her back to leave. She then remembered what her first goal was. "Just one last question. Would you please tell who is in room 402 anyway ? It seems like I know a lot of people here."

The woman nodded, before clearing her throat and looking into her files. "A man named Rushya King is currently staying in room 402. Actually, he's been staying there for the last two months though we nearly never see him. But seeing as you're long term customers too, you might get to know him. He is a sandy-haired blond man who I would say be in his early twenties. He always wears a red bandanna around his forehead and has three parallel scars across his cheek." She smiled at Sakura, watching her starting to retreat back up the stairs, then looked at her nails once more.

Climbing up the stairs, Sakura was surprised at how easy the information had come out. Not only did she know his name, but also his age and his appearance. And for a bonus she knew that the Uchiha had been here. Now all she needed to do was tell Gaara all she knew.

Sakura knocked on Gaara's door once arrived on the fourth floor. She heard steps and a few seconds later the door opened. Sakura at once turned away from the sight.

"Gaara... Get some clothes on," she growled. In front of here stood the red-head, clothed only with a towel around his waist, small droplets of water clinging to his chest and hair.

"It's not as if you've never seen me without a shirt on," he replied in a low voice, but the rosette heard footsteps and a rustling of clothes. A few seconds later, when Sakura deemed it safe to turn around, she found Gaara sitting quietly on the bed, fully clothed. She breathed a sigh of relief and went to sit beside him.

"Listen... I've found out something about the mission. Actually two things." Gaara did not look the least bit interested but she continued anyway. "Firstly, the man's name is Rushya King. He's sandy-blond, wears a red bandanna and has three scars across his cheek. Secondly, I found out that Sasuke Uchiha stayed here two months ago, but booked out the day after. Which is when Rushya booked in."

Gaara seemed a bit more interested at the mention of the Uchiha's name, but stayed silent until she had finished. "I have made some investigations on my side too. I searched and found the man Rushya King, and printed off his photo. Now, around a year ago three boys were sent off to the same mission as we are doing. Their last names were not noted, but I think I recognized some of the names from Konoha ..."

"Sai, Choji and Kiba ..." Sakura whispered for him. The three guys who used to hang around with Ino, Hinata, Tenten and Temari. Four people from Konoha who had mysteriously disappeared...

"I don't think they are dead. What you found out about Sasuke interested me though ... He was scheduled to come back today, but if he booked out a day after he started... Did the receptionist tell you how he booked out ?" he asked her. Sakura was shocked by all this news... Four people had failed, including a senior. How the hell was she going to get past ?

"Yes, by phone," the rosette managed to choke out, realizing what it meant. "But you say you don't think they are dead ... Why ?"

Gaara put a finger on his lips to get her to quieten down. "The students at Konoha are all orphans. For official reasons, these children do not exist. If someone went missing, it would cause no scandal simply because of the fact no one would notice. But if the police found a body, matters would get more complicated."

Sakura was starting to feel some hope now. They had found out that the boys were still alive, wherever they were. Now the tricky bit : get close to Rushya King. The rosette excused herself from Gaara's room. He let her leave, even though it was clear she was up to something. Not that it mattered... Students who died on their first week were not rare ... Yet he still felt something... He decided to stay up that night and watch her.

The moon was shining through the corridor and shone on Sakura's hesitating hand. The rosette stood there, in front of room 402, clad only in a night-dress. Her breathing was shallow, but she gulped and gathered her courage. Half of her mind was telling her to not do it. But what sort of a life did she have anyway ? The least she could do was sacrifice herself, her poor, measly existence to help people.

Sweat now ran down Sakura's forehead as she began to tremble. _Breath, just breath_.

She knocked on the door 402.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N** : Sooooooo sorry for the long wait ... I had to go to a marriage ... That I wasn't even invited to. But we didn't have a computer so it was kinda difficult to update. Also, I'm going to try to make the presentation better and easier to read this time.

**Disclaimer** : I don't and never will own Naruto.

* * *

The rosette held her breath as she waited. Soon she heard footsteps in the other room, and the door slowly creaked open. She averted her gaze straight away and concentrated on her breathing. She could feel the young man looking at her, analyzing her.

"What do you want here ?" he asked harshly. Sakura looked at him for the first time. He was young, probably in his early twenties. Sandy blond hair partially hid his unusual gold-colored eyes. Three claw-like scars were slashed across his left cheek, and a black bandanna was tied around is forehead. His clothes were casual as he was probably getting ready for bed.

The rosette hesitated. "I-I was just wondering if you had some water. You see, the tap in my bedroom seems to have stopped working, and I didn't want to wake the receptionist up, and ..."

"So you decided to wake me up instead ?" he cut her off. Sakura looked at him with big guilty eyes. To this he just laughed and ushered her in. _Puppy dog eyes always win,_ she laughed to herself, but showing no emotion on the outside. The room was large, larger than hers. Pale blue was the dominant color but specks of darker tints were visible. The bed was black and still made up. Clothes were piled up on the floor.

"Sorry if it's a bit messy, I never get time to tidy anything," he chuckled with a grin, rubbing the back of his head. "Sit on the bed, I'll get you a glass of water from the bathroom."

Sakura stayed silent, but nodded to show him she understood. Him, a perverted drug-dealer ? He reminded her more of Naruto with his foxy grin. Though she knew he was evil, he just didn't seem it.

She could hear water running from the closed bathroom door. Why had he even shut it anyway ? People don't shut doors if they're pouring water. The rosette quickly looked around, taking in everything she could see. No books were around, no notebooks, just clothes. She scanned the floor to see if something had been hidden under the rug. Nothing.

At that moment the sandy-blond man decided to come back in, holding a glass of water, and handing it to her. She gave a quick thanks, before smelling it discreetly to check if he had poisoned it. Nothing either.

She drank from it, taking long sips, then cast her eyes downward, clutching the glass with both hands.

"I'm sorry if I caused any trouble to you, I just woke from a nightmare with a dry throat, and when I turned the tap on..."

Rushya interrupted her once more, reaching out his hand to hold a pink lock. "It seems you like to ramble on. But I wouldn't worry, you're not the first to come to me."

Sakura stiffened. He knew about her ? "W-What ?" she managed to stutter.

The man laughed and lent closer. She could feel his breath on her ear. "I said, you're not the only one who comes to me. But usually I hire them," he whispered. Sakura was quick to understand. _He's talking about prostitutes ?_

Before she knew it, the rosette felt a pair of strong lips on her own. Her eyes widened, her body was still frozen in shock. Seconds passed like minutes, and Sakura slowly started to respond. _First rule : Don't blow you cover._

The sandy-blond was the first to break the kiss. But he stayed as close as before, murmuring words only the rosette could hear. "I'm going to do a little tour around some buildings later. Would you join me ?" he asked in a husky voice.

But before she could answer, he was kissing her again. Sparing no time he forced her lips open as his tongue swept inside her. Sakura stayed put, staying obediently on the bed and not moving. Suddenly she felt his hands on her stomach, and moving higher. She broke it off immediately.

"N-No !" she nearly cried, but she had her lips covered over again. She tried scrambling away from him, but his arm was kept firm around her waist. By this time her brain had gone into panic mode. All her training was forgotten in a small corner of her mind, but what could she have done anyway ? This man was much stronger than her, and could kill her for the fun of it.

Suddenly she felt two strong arms around her waist, dragging her away from the sandy-blond man into a muscled chest.

"She's mine," the voice behind her growled. Sakura could have recognized that voice anywhere. It belonged to a psychopathic red-head who was currently saving her life.

Rushya looked stunned for a second to have his prey ripped out of his grip, but soon regained his calm, and smiled, laughing and shaking his head. His foxy grin so similar to Naruto's now repelled the rosette.

"So you say she's yours ?" the man asked, heading towards the door. "I'll leave her to you then. But you'd better break her in soon, she stinks of virginity." And with that he left, slamming the door behind him, his laughter filling the room.

Sakura let out the breath she didn't know she was holding. But before she could completely relax, she tensed up again knowing that there was another psychopath in the room. She didn't trust him yet.

"What do you think you where doing ?" Gaara asked in a harsh voice. The rosette wriggled her way out of his grasp and turned to face him on all fours. Her pink hair lay long on the tussled covers, her fingers gripped the sheets. One of her fingers went to poke Gaara in the chest.

"Listen, you ! You knew exactly what I was doing ! And if you hadn't come, that guy would have given more information." Sakura sighed, and ran a hand through her hair. "I did find out that he was leaving this evening to go around some buildings for inspection, so maybe that was valuable information..."

Gaara cut her off by his smirk. She didn't like his smile, showing pointy fangs and in his eyes a certain blood lust. He licked his lips, then looked at her with his jade eyes.

"This evening ? ... Perfect."


End file.
